Department for Transport

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that road surfacing and repair work benefits from the latest techniques and technology to maximise their durability.

Andrew Jones: Both Highways England, as a publicly owned company responsible for the strategic road network, and local highway authorities, responsible for maintaining the local road network, allow the use of different materials for treating highway surfaces. Whilst using any specific techniques and technologies to maintain the road network is entirely a matter for each individual highway authority to decide based on their circumstances, the Department for Transport continues to work with local highway authorities and the private sector to introduce more innovation and technology to ensure more efficient working and permanent repairs.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft to help prove ownership of their vehicles.

Andrew Jones: There are no plans to create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft. The purpose of the vehicle register held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to record vehicles and their keepers. The register is maintained to assist in revenue collection, road safety and law enforcement. It holds details of the keepers of vehicles and shows who is responsible for their day to day use. It is not a register of legal title or ownership of vehicles.

Shipping: Registration

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33976, what assessment his Department has made of the potential change to (a) benefits and (b) risks to the status of the UK Ship Register within the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Work is in progress by the department to explore whether changing the status of the UK Ship Register would help ensure its future competitiveness. The work is in its early stages, but will assess both the benefits and risks of the available options.

Driving Tests

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33618, what the new contract arrangements are which he refers to; what assessment was made of the potential use of contract arrangements similar to those new contract arrangements with Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd referred to; and for what reasons the contract was not put out for full tender.

Andrew Jones: (a) The ‘new contract arrangements’ is a reference to the two-year contract extension granted in 2013 to Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd as part of an agreed settlement following its legal challenge to the theory test service procurement of that time. (b) Those new contract arrangements were bespoke to the settlement at that time. (c) As indicated in response 162377, Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd will continue to provide the driver theory test services. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have now agreed a contract variation to extend the contract for a period of 4 years. Their contract would otherwise have ended on 4 September. The contract for them to continue to provide the services has not been put out to tender because there is insufficient time to conduct an open competition and have a new provider ready to start in time. This extension allows us time to conduct a thorough procurement exercise and explore options for alternative delivery models.

Pilotage Act 1987

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the role of his Department is in overseeing the operation of the Pilotage Act 1987 and in ensuring compliance with the provisions of that Act.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport has no powers to oversee or direct Competent Harbour Authorities in the execution of their duties to provide pilotage services in accordance with the 1987 Pilotage Act.

Pilotage Act 1987

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department observes the Sea Empress ruling in its observation of the Pilotage Act 1987; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Under the Pilotage Act 1987, it is Competent Harbour Authority’s duty to keep under review what pilotage services are needed for safe navigation and to provide those services accordingly, for which a proper assessment of the interests of safety is relevant as spelt out in the Sea Empress case.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the current £55.7 billion budget for High Speed 2 is for (a) phase 1, (b) phase 2A and (c) phase 2B; and what the contingency budget is for each such phase.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The 2015 Spending Review reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to the programme providing a long-term funding envelope of £55.7bn in 2015 prices. A breakdown of this envelope with and without contingency has been provided below: £'bn, 2015 PricesPhase OnePhase 2aPhase 2bRolling StockTotalWithout Contingency18.02.714.75.440.8With Contingency24.33.720.7755.7

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the package of compensation schemes for phase 2A of High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We expect to announce the Government’s response to the HS2 Phase Two: West Midlands to Crewe Property (Phase 2a) Consultation 2015 by the summer Recess.

Cycling

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he supports the expansion of centres such as Travel for London's planned cycling superhub to other parts of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We support the development of cycle hubs that have all the facilities a cyclist needs in one place and are providing funding for a number of these hubs. We have already financed a number of these innovative hubs which have contributed towards the number of cycle parking spaces across England trebling since 2012. We are monitoring with interest the development of the cycle superhub at Waterloo Station which will provide cycle parking on a much larger scale to ascertain the effectiveness of such a facility at other cities across England. Cycling is a devolved responsibility for Scotland and Wales.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what forecast his Department has made of the cost of legal fees for the High Speed 2 project over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department has appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to provide support in relation to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill. The value of the contract as agreed with Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group is £10.5m. The contract duration is from March 2012 until six months after Royal Assent. The Department has also appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to support the preparation of the HS2 Phase 2a hybrid bill, which is expected to be deposited in 2017. The value of the contract as agreed with Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group is £4.2m over three years, with the opportunity to extend the contract for an additional one or two years, subject to approval. The Department also continues to instruct a number of barristers to support the HS2 project. However, the use of barristers is demand led and so the total cost of fees over the next five years is not possible to forecast.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the total amount of compensation payments agreed for residents along the route of the High Speed 2 line to date.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As of 30 March 2016 £280,573,795 has been paid to residents under the statutory blight regime and the HS2 discretionary schemes.

Home Office

Refugees: Calais

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of children in Calais who are waiting to be reunited with their families in the UK.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length time taken to reunite stranded minors with their families in the UK once they have been identified in Calais has been in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: There is no official estimate of the number of children in Calais, this is primarily a matter for the French authorities. It is only possible to assess whether an individual has links to the UK that could enable a transfer on family unity grounds once they make an application for asylum in France.Once an asylum claim is lodged in France the Dublin Regulation procedure requesting the UK to take charge of a child on family unity grounds takes place very quickly, often in a matter of weeks, subject to consideration of the evidence in each individual case. An average time is not available for each of the last three years.Since February 2016 the UK has accepted 30 family reunification applications from minors in France of which 23 have already been transferred to the UK.

Immigration

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for discretionary leave to remain have been (a) received, (b) rejected and (c) treated as invalid in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many such applications were rejected owing to (i) failure to pay the fee and (ii) refusal of fee waiver.

James Brokenshire: Our records indicate that 12,656 (a) applications for further discretionary leave to remain were received from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015.164 (b) were rejected for failure to pay the fee or Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and175 (c) rejected as invalid.Of the 164 rejections 55 (i) were rejected owing to failure to pay the application fee and 89 (ii) owing to refusal of a fee waiver. 20 were also rejected solely due to failure to pay the IHS.Notes:• The data relates to applications for Further Discretionary Leave to Remain.• The 12,656 (a) applications were made by 12,430 people (due to repeat applications).• The data provided is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.• All of the statistics referred to in the answer come with necessary caveats about the accuracy of the data. The data provided to answer (b), (c), (i) and (ii) above has been drawn from manual records on the Home Office Case Information Database, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible human errors with data entry and processing.

Female Genital Mutilation

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps police and social services take when a girl is identified as being at risk of female genital mutilation.

Karen Bradley: On 1 April the Government published updated multi-agency guidance on female genital mutilation (FGM), which we have placed on a statutory footing for the first time. The guidance applies to all frontline professionals in England and Wales, and includes steps police and social services should take when a girl is identified as being at risk of FGM. The guidance will help increase awareness of FGM; improve compliance with good practice in order to afford victims of this terrible abuse the greatest possible protection. It will also help to support effective training of frontline professionals and a more effective multi-agency response. The guidance is available on GOV.ukThe Government has introduced FGM Protection Orders through the Serious Crime Act 2015 which can be used to protect a potential victim or other family member who may be at risk of FGM. Data released on 31 March 2016 shows that 32 FGMPOs were issued between their introduction in July 2015 and December 2015.

Terrorism

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in rolling out Project Griffin to security managers in the private sector and what budget has been provided to the National Counter Terrorism Security Office to promote Project Griffin.

Mr John Hayes: Project Griffin is the national counter-terrorism awareness initiative for business produced by the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) to protect our cities and communities from the threat of terrorism. Since 2004, Project Griffin has held briefing events to increase public and staff awareness of how best to reduce and respond to the most likely types of terrorist activities.In 2015-16 these events were delivered to around 100,000 individuals. On 20 April, NaCTSO launched a new Griffin initiative to offer organisations the opportunity to self-deliver this training, and further increase awareness.The National Counter Terrorism Security Office is funded from the Counter Terrorism Policing Grant. We do not provide breakdowns of this funding for security reasons. As well as the work of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Project Griffin is promoted through a variety of other mechanisms including by police Counter Terrorism Security Advisers and Counter Terrorism Awareness Advisers, who are employed in every region to raise awareness with businesses of the terrorist threat, appropriate responses to take, and mitigation measures

Deportation: Albania

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the treatment of single mothers and victims of trafficking who have been returned from the UK to Albania after their return to that country.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not monitor returnees after they have returned to their country of origin.

Money Laundering

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total value was of criminal assets laundered abroad identified by British law enforcement agencies in each year since 2009 by country; and how much of those assets in each such country (a) has been recovered and (b) is recoverable.

Mr John Hayes: As the Government set out in the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance, there is no definitive measure of the scale of money laundering, but the best available international estimate, by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), of amounts laundered globally are equivalent to 2.7% of global GDP or US$1.6 trillion in 2009.Criminal assets recovered since 2009 under asset sharing arrangements are set out below for England and Wales. The figures below do not contain the amounts recovered by police in England and Wales as a result of their investigations, as these figures are not held centrally.



Asset sharing arrangements
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Serious Organised Crime Agency: Databases

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many suspicious activity reports the ELMER database was designed to be capable of processing on an annual basis.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the of the potential benefits of replacing the ELMER database as part of the implementation of the Government's Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance, published in April 2016.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many suspicious activity reports the ELMER database processed in 2015.

Mr John Hayes: As is set out in the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) Regime Annual Report, the SARs IT infrastructure processed 381,882 SARs in 2014/15. The Report can be found at:http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/677-sars-annual-report-2015/fileIn the National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which the Government published on 15 October 2015, it was recognised that the suspicious activity reports (SARS) IT infra structure is coming to the end of its life, and will need to be replaced. The Government launched the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance on 21 April, which sets out a programme to deliver a significantly improved anti-money laundering regime for the UK. As part of these improvements we will be working with public and private stakeholders to develop a replacement SARs IT infrastructure.In the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, the Government set out that a replacement for the existing SARS IT infrastructure will be designed to support a significant improvement in the UK’s anti-money laundering regime. The benefits will include; more effective processing of SARs, including; automated cross-checking with law enforcement databases; development of intelligence on those responsible for money laundering; and better information on threats for sharing with the private sector. We are consulting on the proposals to improve the anti-money laundering regime.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Nigeria: Christianity

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support Christians facing persecution in Nigeria.

James Duddridge: In Nigeria, the right to freedom of religion is protected by the Constitution. Boko Haram seeks to undermine this right by attacking Nigerians of all faiths who do not subscribe to its extremist views. They have caused immense suffering in both Christian and Muslim communities. We assess that the majority of their victims are Muslim.We are providing a substantial package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram, including training and advice on counter-insurgency, £5 million of support to a regional military taskforce and humanitarian aid to support those affected by the conflict.Elsewhere Nigeria faces inter-communal conflicts between farmers and herdsmen over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water. Through our development assistance, the United Kingdom supports initiatives to reduce these conflicts and build bridges between communities.We will continue to work with the Nigerian Government, non-governmental organisations and civil society to improve the security situation and human rights for all in Nigeria.

Nigeria: Boko Haram

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to degrade and destroy Boko Haram in Nigeria.

James Duddridge: The United Kingdom is providing a substantial and increasing package of United Kingdom military, intelligence, development and humanitarian support to help Nigeria and the region tackle Boko Haram. This includes training and advice to Nigerian military units deployed against Boko Haram and £5 million to support the Multinational Joint Taskforce. We are also providing £32 million in humanitarian support over the next three years to the estimated seven million people affected by the conflict in north east Nigeria.The Nigerian government will host a high-level Regional Security Summit in Abuja in May. This will bring together regional leaders and international partners, including the United Kingdom, to reaffirm their shared commitment to the fight against Boko Haram.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Employment Agencies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information he holds on the number of private sector employment agencies in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Boles: According to the Office for National Statistics the number of employment placement agencies and temporary agencies is given in the table below.201522,445201419,440201318,180201217,865201117,515201018,195 Data on number of the employment agency businesses are not available on a consistent basis prior to 2010. This is due to changes in methodology and the industrial classification system.

Industry

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he last reviewed his Department's industrial strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: At the Science and Technology Select Committee on the science budget and spending review held on Tuesday 19 January my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills stated that he wanted to see sector strategies that were formed under the coalition Government’s industrial strategy refreshed, as those strategies were put in place a number of years ago. My right hon. Friend has had meetings with many of the sector councils to discuss this and will continue to meet with sector councils and others, to consider what more the Government can do to support these industries and their growth.My right hon. Friend also explained that there is an open door policy from his department to all industries, including newer industries and those that don’t yet have formal sector strategies.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32406, if he will make it his policy that the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service collect the number of national minimum wage inquiries relating to the domiciliary care and residential care sectors.

Nick Boles: The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) only record trade sector information when a caller chooses to provide it. There are no plans to request Acas collect more detailed sector information other than the sector categories that are currently available for National Minimum Wage (NMW) calls.NMW callers that identify as working in the domiciliary care or residential care sectors are categorised in the ‘Health, social work and child care’ sector.More detailed sector information may be available where a call is referred to HMRC and results in a full investigation taking place.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Sheffield

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33961, what estimate he has made of the amount of cashable savings to be realised from reduced travel in the event of the proposal to close his Department's office at St Paul's Place, Sheffield going ahead.

Joseph Johnson: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to question 33960.

Driverless Vehicles

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the cyber security implications of driverless cars.

Anna Soubry: Government recognises that vehicle security is a priority to ensure the safety and security of the public and their data.Government believes connected and autonomous vehicles should be “secure by design” and handle data appropriately. We are working closely with industry to achieve these aims as part of a wider programme of activity to ensure that the significant opportunities of these technologies can be realised safely and securely.Connected technologies present cyber security challenges across a range of sectors. Cyber security has been identified as a key priority in the latest National Security Strategy. The Government has announced the formation of a National Cyber Security Centre, which will bring together the UK’s cyber expertise from different parts of Government into one organisation. The Government will also publish a new National Cyber Security Strategy later this year.

Overseas Trade: Commonwealth

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to promote trade between the UK and other Commonwealth countries.

Anna Soubry: Her Majesty’s Government is represented across the Commonwealth and, as one of its priorities, is committed to helping UK business succeed overseas. UK Trade & Investment itself is represented in around half of all Commonwealth countries. There is therefore a range of services that business can benefit from, dependent on the scale of the opportunities in each country.My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has recently made further appointments of designated Trade Envoys to Commonwealth countries which now include; Bangladesh, Ghana, Mozambique, Brunei, Malaysia, Nigeria, Canada, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

National Consumer Council: Pensions

Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the efficiency of the National Consumer Council pension scheme in discharging its duty to ensure payment to new pensioners on attainment of scheme payment eligibility.

Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the transparency of contact details for the National Consumer Council pension scheme.

Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will investigate the fitness for purpose of the members' payments division of the National Consumer Council pension scheme.

Nick Boles: The National Consumer Council participated in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), which is managed by the Cabinet Office. Administration of the PCSPS is contracted out to MyCSP Ltd. MyCSP's performance in administering the PCSPS is monitored by the Supplier Management team within Civil Service Pensions in the Cabinet Office; the performance of MyCSP is also reported to the Civil Service Pensions Board on a regular basis, which is independent of the Cabinet Office team. Contact details for MyCSP are available from the Civil Service Pensions website: www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/contact-us/.

Non-departmental Public Bodies: Pensions

Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what arrangements are in place to ensure that the pension schemes of abolished non-departmental public bodies which lay within his Department's remit efficiently discharge their liabilities to pensioners.

Nick Boles: The majority of the Department’s non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) contribute into existing multi-employer schemes, these include the PCSPS and Research Council Pension Scheme. Individuals also have the option to contribute to a partnership pension scheme operated by selected pension companies. In both these cases the responsibility to make payments to pensioners lies with the scheme, and not with the individual employer. Where an individual NDPB operating its own scheme was to be abolished, as part of that process a decision would be made whether it was appropriate to transfer the liability to the Department or to transfer that scheme to the management of the Cabinet Office.

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has plans to regulate the sale of black spot carbon monoxide detectors.

Anna Soubry: We have no plans to further regulate the sale of black spot carbon monoxide detectors.Carbon monoxide detectors fall under the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) 2005 which states any product placed on the market must be safe. Trading Standards will remove products that do not meet the requirements of the GPSR.These types of carbon monoxide detectors are obsolete and no longer generally available.

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward regulations on the sale of black spot carbon monoxide detectors.

Anna Soubry: We have no plans to bring forward regulations on the sale of black spot carbon monoxide detectors.Carbon monoxide detectors fall under the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) 2005 which states any product placed on the market must be safe. Trading Standards will remove products that do not meet the requirements of the GPSR.These types of carbon monoxide detectors are obsolete and no longer generally available.

Austin Reed Group

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will take steps to support finding a new buyer for Austin Reed Group Ltd.

Anna Soubry: I understand that the announcement that Austin Reed has filed for administration will be worrying for those affected.First and foremost, the Administrator’s focus will be on securing a buyer for the business. The Insolvency Service is in regular contact with the Administrators and we are keeping the situation under close review.

Shares

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the ban on bearer shares which came into force on 26 May 2015.

Anna Soubry: The government introduced a ban on the issue of new bearer shares on 26 May 2015 through the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The legislation provided a transition period to allow existing bearer shareholders to convert their shares into other types of shareholding or to realise their value. The transition period ended on 25 February 2016. Companies notify Companies House of the removal of bearer shares when they file their annual return (which will change to the confirmation statement from 30 June 2016).Since 26 May 2015 Companies House has worked closely with the approximately 1,300 companies that had bearer shares as well as their directors and professional representatives. Over 1,233 of those companies have confirmed to Companies House that they have no longer have bearer shares.Companies House is monitoring each filing of these companies’ annual return to confirm that the bearer shares have been converted. This exercise will end in February 2017 once the annual filing cycle concludes following the end of the transition period.

Higher Education

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK Erasmus students, lecturers and research fellows of the UK leaving the EU.

Joseph Johnson: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Iron and Steel: Redundancy

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the cessation of downstream steel operations at Llanwern on further redundancies in that region.

Anna Soubry: The Government recognises the considerable impact that a closure of Tata Steel UK’s facilities at Llanwern would have on its employees, their families and the communities in which they live. That is why we are working closely with Tata to find a credible buyer for their entire UK operation. Our interests are to support Tata Steel and the wider industry, secure as many jobs as we can and deliver a sustainable future.On 21 April, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills announced that a package of support worth hundreds of millions of pounds would be made available to potential buyers on commercial terms to support the ongoing operation and deliver long term investment in the future of the business. We will also consider support in other areas such as plant, pensions and power supply, and any other areas that potential buyers believe the Government can provide support.

UK Membership of EU

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK Erasmus students, lecturers and research fellows in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU.

Joseph Johnson: Over 200,000 British Students have been able to study abroad on the Erasmus programme. Access to this programme is just one of the many reasons why the Government believes we are safer, stronger and better off inside a reformed EU.

Warranties: Compensation

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that customers who were sold cashback warranties by PowerPlan and who did not receive their cash deposits having not claimed against those warranties receive compensation.

Anna Soubry: The liquidation of the companies involved in the cashback scheme is ongoing. The liquidators have the right to take action against the company if they consider the cashback scheme created an obligation to fund any liabilities. My hon. Friend from Grantham and Stamford is meeting the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss their findings shortly.

Manufacturing Industries: Employment

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assistance his Department provides to prevent job losses in highly-skilled manufacturing businesses.

Anna Soubry: We are creating a highly competitive business environment to make the UK an attractive location for advanced manufacturing investment, boosting skills and protecting spending on innovation and cutting edge manufacturing technologies. This drives the strong productivity growth, and exports, that will sustain the UK as a leading manufacturing nation.

Skilled Workers: Vacancies

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to address skills shortages in the workforce.

Joseph Johnson: This Government is committed to giving young people the skills they need to succeed in life. We are supporting 3 million more apprenticeships in this Parliament, and we are ensuring that employers play a leading role in the design of our new Degree Apprenticeships. Following our Higher Education Green Paper, we will be launching a technical consultation on the Teaching Excellence Framework, which will ensure our universities continue to focus on helping their students into employment.

*No heading*

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage businesses to take on apprentices.

Nick Boles: Later this month, we will launch a communications campaign that will promote the benefits of apprenticeships to employers. From next April, the apprenticeship levy will put funding in the hands of employers and encourage them to take on more apprentices. We are also supporting smaller businesses taking on young apprentices through the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers; and removed the requirement for employers to pay National Insurance contributions for apprentices aged under 25.

Land Registry: Privatisation

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the privatisation of the Land Registry on the effectiveness of its service.

Sajid Javid: I am pleased to say we are consulting on this very issue at the moment. We want to accelerate the transformation and digitisation of the Land Registry, improving the service it offers. However, we would only proceed with any change if we were convinced it would provide a continued appropriate level of service.

Skilled Workers: Vacancies

Seema Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to address skills shortages in the workforce.

Joseph Johnson: This Government is committed to giving young people the skills they need to succeed in life. We are supporting 3 million more apprenticeships in this Parliament, and we are ensuring that employers play a leading role in the design of our new Degree Apprenticeships. Following our Higher Education Green Paper, we will be launching a technical consultation on the Teaching Excellence Framework, which will ensure our universities continue to focus on helping their students into employment.

UK Membership of EU

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the UK's digital industries.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The UK is home to a thriving digital sector, worth £118.3 billion and equivalent to 7.3% of UK GVA. 43% of the UK tech sector’s total exports go to the EU. Digital Single Market reforms could be worth £330 billion a year to the EU economy. This is a clear example of how the single market benefits the UK digital industries. The Government's position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Department for International Development

Kurds: Overseas Aid

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to assist the Kurdistan region.

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to assist internally displaced persons in northern Iraq with humanitarian aid.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK has committed £79.5 million of humanitarian assistance to Iraq since summer 2014. This includes cash assistance, access to clean water, food, medicines and other life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable. Our partners distribute our aid on the basis of need across Iraq, including to internally displaced persons in northern Iraq.Given the importance of a coordinated response, we are providing funding to UNDP to support the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Joint Crisis Centre (JCC), as well as its equivalent for the Government of Iraq, the Joint Crisis and Monitoring Centre (JCMC). In close collaboration with the JCMC, UN, donors and NGOs, the JCC is leading humanitarian efforts for the KRG.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what estimate she has made of the number of civilian deaths due to blocked medical evacuations.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK condemns the blockage of medical evacuations from hard to reach and besieged areas inside Syria, which has led to unnecessary death and suffering. In March 2016, for example, three children and a young man in Madaya and al-Wa’er died after having their evacuations rejected by the parties restricting access to these towns. Access to healthcare and medical treatment is a fundamental human right protected under international law.Some progress is being made. For example, we are pleased by UN reports that nearly 500 people were evacuated for medical reasons from besieged areas on 20 April.However, more needs to be done to provide for all those in need in Syria. The UK is pressing for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations. We will continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to draw attention to the atrocities being carried out in Syria and press for urgent action, while maintaining the pressure for a political settlement to bring the suffering of the Syrian people to an end.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what discussions she has had with her Russian counterpart about humanitarian access across Syria.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK plays a key role in opening up humanitarian access in Syria. At least 280 shipments of cross-border aid have been delivered because of the UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258.The Department for International Development works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as part of a whole of government response to the Syria crisis. The FCO are raising issues of humanitarian access across Syria with their Russian counterparts at every opportunity.We continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to call on all sides to the conflict and their backers – including Russia - to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and to ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what medical equipment has been removed from convoys by the Syrian regime.

Mr Desmond Swayne: It is unacceptable that medical items are being systematically removed from humanitarian convoys inside Syria, the vast majority by the Assad Regime. According to the UN, 80,000 medical treatments were excluded or removed from their convoys in February 2016 alone. Items removed include essential life-saving medical items such as surgical and anaesthetic supplies and blood bags. These are exactly the items that are vital to treat victims of bombings or shelling, as well as essential to treat accidental trauma and for Caesarean sections or some complicated deliveries. Other items such as diarrhoea kits, emergency health kits, antibiotics, and other medicines have been removed. The UK continues to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to press for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the Regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, for what reasons the UN had to seek written approval from the Syrian regime.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance without the consent of the parties to the conflict is extremely challenging. There is a risk that shipments of humanitarian assistance would be physically stopped and confiscated, humanitarian staff placed in danger and that convoys could come under attack. Likewise, delivering assistance without consent may risk undermining ongoing negotiations on humanitarian access to the 4.6 million people in hard to reach areas across Syria.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, for what reasons approval was not given for aid convoys to access five of the eleven besieged locations.

Mr Desmond Swayne: We are relieved that, as a result of the work of the International Syria Support Group, humanitarian convoys have reached over 220,000 - 45% - of the 487,000 people living in besieged areas since February 2016. However, progress is too slow. In particular, the Syrian Regime has still not granted approval for convoys to the besieged areas of Duma, East Harasta and Darayya, all of which are in dire need and mere minutes’ drive away from UN warehouses in Damascus.Reasons cited by the regime for not authorising access include the lack of civilians in these areas as well as their inability to guarantee security for humanitarian actors. However, reports from humanitarian actors, including the UN, demonstrate the significant presence of civilians in areas to which access has been denied. For example, on a recent mission to besieged Darayya on 16 April, the UN reported the presence of thousands of civilians including women and children. In addition, whilst we recognise the importance of security concerns, experience in other besieged areas demonstrates that these populations can be reached safely.

Department for Education

Education Select Committee

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times she has attended public meetings of the Education  Committee since her appointment.

Nick Gibb: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education has given evidence to the Education Select Committee six times since she was appointed in July 2014.

English Baccalaureate

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that schools make use of a broad curriculum in meeting their EBacc obligations under the new performance measures; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: All state-funded schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. Ofsted inspectors examine whether schools are providing a broad and balanced curriculum which meets statutory requirements and the needs and interests of pupils. The EBacc has been designed to be limited in size to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for other subjects. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for more able pupils. For many pupils, taking the EBacc will mean taking seven GCSEs; and for those taking triple science, it will mean taking eight. This means that there will continue to be room for pupils to study other subjects. We set out our EBacc proposals in our consultation. We will respond to the consultation in due course.

Teachers: Qualifications

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in the school system lacked Qualified Teacher Status in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teachers without Qualified Teacher Status in service in state funded schools in England, November 2010 to 2014. November 2015 data will be available at the end of June.  FTE number of teachers without QTS% of teachers without QTS201016,7003.8201116,1003.7201216,0003.6201316,6003.7201420,3004.5Source: School Workforce Census Our recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, announced that we intend to replace the current arrangements for teacher qualification with a new, stronger accreditation that will be based on clear evidence of effective teaching practice. The new system will allow schools to employ as teachers individuals with appropriate qualifications and experience and put them on a pathway to full accreditation, recognising their proficiency in the classroom.

Department for Education: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against her Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here. http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

Teachers: Vacancies

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the extent of variation in the numbers of teacher vacancies between parts of England.

Nick Gibb: The number of full time teacher vacancies in state-funded schools in England in November 2014 was 1,030 and the vacancy rate was 0.3%. November 2015 data will be available at the end of June 2016. The information for school, region and local authority level is published in the underlying data as part of the statistical first release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2014’ which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014 Although the national teacher vacancy rate remains low, we are aware that schools in some parts of the country are finding it more challenging to recruit teachers, particularly as the economy improves. Our recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, sets out our plans to ensure that there are good teachers everywhere they are needed. This includes the launch of the National Teaching Service that will, by 2020, place up to 1,500 outstanding teachers and middle leaders in the schools that struggle most to recruit and retain good teachers.

Teachers: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many full-time equivalent teacher vacancies there are in (a) state-funded schools and (b) academies in (i) Ashfield constituency and (ii) Nottinghamshire local authority area; and how many such vacancies there were in each of the last two years.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the number of vacancies for full-time (FT) teaching posts in (a) state-funded schools and (b) academies in (i) Ashfield constituency and (ii) Nottinghamshire local authority area in November 2013 and 2014. November 2015 data will be available in summer 2016.  November 2013November 2014 Number of FT VacanciesNumber of FT VacanciesState Funded Schools including Academies Ashfield Constituency01Nottinghamshire LA710All Academies Ashfield Constituency00Nottinghamshire LA56Source: School Workforce Census The information in the table was published in the underlying data as part of the statistical first release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2014’ which is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

Dominic Raab: The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be located at the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

Ministry of Justice: Electronic Government

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34465, if his Department will take steps to allow web-users to include honours when completing Government online forms.

Mike Penning: My Department currently has no general plans to allow web users to include honours when completing on line forms.

Courts: Lancashire

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many e-courts there are in Lancashire.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Excluding one closing court, in Lancashire all criminal courts (4 Crown courts and 6 magistrates’ courts) are equipped to work digitally through services such as in-court evidence presentation, video links, a shared file store, Wi-Fi and a new digital case management system in the Crown courts.

Courts: Lancashire

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court buildings have been sold in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Two court buildings in Lancashire have been sold since the creation of HM Court Service in 2005. Neither of these were in Burnley. Prior to 2005 magistrates’ courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates’ courts committees.

Prime Minister

Islamic State: Finance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he had with President Obama on his recent visit to London in April 2016 on tackling the funding of ISIS/Daesh by people from Saudi Arabia.

Mr David Cameron: When I met President Obama in London last month as well as with the G5 in Hanover we discussed a range of issues including continuing coalition efforts to defeat and degrade Daesh.The Global Coalition’s comprehensive strategy to defeat Daesh includes a focus on squeezing Daesh’s finances. Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the Global Coalition and is one of the co-leads of the Counter-ISIL Finance Group. The Coalition is therefore working closely with Saudi Arabia to combat funding to Daesh in all its forms.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Video on Demand

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of progress on increasing the provision of access services on video on demand content; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the provision of access services on video on demand content; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The provision of access services on video on demand content has increased in recent years, according to the 2015 Authority for Television on Demand report which can be found here: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/on-demand/access-european/AS_survey_report_2015.pdf. The evidence in this report is supported by dialogue with broadcasters, content providers and platform operators, who fed back to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in Autumn 2015.Ofcom, the regulator for video on demand services, is reviewing how to improve the provision of access services on video on demand services.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

Rugby: World Cup

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.256 of Budget 2016, when he plans to take a decision on the details of the Government's support for the UK bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup; and if he will do so in time for the Rugby Football League to meet the deadline of 30 June 2016.

David Evennett: Pursuant to my answer of 13 April 2016, my officials have been working closely with the Rugby Football League and the government is aware of the deadline for submitting the bid to the Rugby League International Federation. The government will make a decision in due course, ahead of this deadline.

Video on Demand

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of video on demand access services.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom, the regulator for video on demand services, is reviewing how to improve the provision of access services on video on demand services.

Video on Demand

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how his Department measures progress on increasing the provision of video on demand access services.

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of progress on increasing the provision of video on demand access services.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The provision of access services on video on demand content has increased in recent years, according to the 2015 Authority for Television on Demand report which can be found here:http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/on-demand/access-european/AS_survey_report_2015.pdf. The evidence in this report is supported by dialogue with broadcasters, content providers and platform operators, who fed back to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in Autumn 2015.

St George's Day

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage wider participation and interest in St George's Day; what steps his Department is planning to take to further increase participation and interest in such events in 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department supports a number of Arm’s Length bodies that run events across the country on St George’s day. English Heritage hold an annual programme - which includes one of its biggest events of the year, the St George’s Day Festival at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. English Heritage also organise St George’s Day pageant events (living history shows) at other sites including Dover Castle in Kent, Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire and Warkworth Castle in Northumberland. In addition to English Heritage events, The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded 'Derby Live' £35,300 for a three-year community project called 'Maypoles, Mummers and Merry England.' The project, designed for school children explored English folk traditions through workshops, activities and folk dances at the Derby St George’s Day celebrations.

Nuisance Calls

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will discuss with telephone providers reasons to make it easier for people to identify direct marketing calls and choose whether to accept them.

Mr Edward Vaizey: This Government is taking forward a range of measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law. This includes lowering the threshold under the the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation 2003 (PECR) to make it easier for the ICO to take action against organisations that break the law, resulting in £3,420,000 worth of fines issued.The Government also recently made an amendment to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), requiring direct marketing companies registered in the UK, to display Calling Line Identification. This new measure will both improve consumer choice, by making it easier for people to refuse and report unwanted marketing calls; and make it easier for the Information Commissioner’s Office to investigate and take enforcement action against organisations who breach the rules.The Department has held conversations with telephone providers on the identification of direct marketing callers and will continue do so as part of its strategy to tackle nuisance calls.

Nuisance Calls

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will discuss with the Information Commissioner's Office reasons to refer consumer complaints to equivalent bodies overseas in addressing nuisance telephone calls from abroad.

Mr Edward Vaizey: This Government recently made an amendment to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), requiring direct marketing companies registered in the UK and those making calls on behalf of UK companies from outside the UK, to display Calling Line Identification. This measure will make it easier for the ICO to investigate and take enforcement action against callers who persistently and deliberately flout the rules.In addtion, both the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and Ofcom engage with the Do Not Call Forum of the London Action Plan, which includes overseas regulators with responsibility for tackling nuisance calls. The ICO is joint secretariat and works with other members, including the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, to target organisations, share investigation methods and drive forward coordinated actions. The group are drafting an operational plan to strengthen cooperation at international level

Cultural Heritage: Theft

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to promote an international antiquities code of conduct to prevent the illegal trade in such objects.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The UK welcomes steps towards developing a collaborative approach to tackling the illicit trade in antiquities and plays a key role in supporting international initiatives on this matter.The Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 makes it a criminal offence to deal dishonestly in tainted cultural property from anywhere in the world. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has issued guidelines to the relevant UK sectors.In addition, in the UK, trade associations for dealers in antiquities have codes of conduct for their members. For example, the Antiquities Dealers Association’s Code of Conduct obliges its members to ensure to the best of their knowledge and belief that all objects sold are genuine and as described and legal.

Telephone Services: Fees and Charges

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will give Ofcom the power to set or cap access charges with regard to 084 and 087 numbers.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom already has the power to impose tariff principles and maximum prices for the purpose of protecting consumers. Ofcom made changes in July 2015 to simplify non-geographic numbers and make call pricing clearer for consumers. This included making Freephone 080 and 116 numbers free from all telephones; and imposing a common simplified structure on revenue generating numbers - 084, 087, 090, 091 and 118 - which splits the price of the call between the phone company and the call service. Ofcom will be reviewing the effectiveness of these new regulations after their first year of operation and will consider whether further regulation should be imposed.

Nuisance Calls

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the press notice, entitled Nuisance calls: funding available for innovative solutions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Small Business Research Initiatives competition for generating solutions to address the problem of nuisance calls.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition has resulted in six successful feasibility studies for innovative call blocking technology to tackle nuisance calls. Further funding is required to test and develop these products before they can be launched on the open market. We will work with our delivery partners to consider how best we can support the next phase of this work.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 151WH, on personal independence payments, what the statistical evidential basis is for the statement that more often than not decisions are overturned at reconsideration and appeal because of additional evidence that has been provided.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department gathers information on the reasons why PIP decisions have been overturned from its Presenting Officers and the summary reasons it gets back from the Tribunal hearing. Internal Management Information for 2015/16 indicates that either new oral or documentary evidence supplied at the hearing are the leading reasons for PIP decisions being overturned in 75% of overturns recorded. These figures are from internal DWP systems, where only one of possible multiple reasons can be recorded, and are derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard.This is consistent with findings from a pilot held in 2012 which published statistics on why benefit decisions by DWP decision makers were overturned at Tribunal. Early analysis of appeals allowed from pilot data based on pilot data from July to October 2012 is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223139/sscs_appeals.pdf

State Retirement Pensions

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will receive a lower state pension under the single-tier pension system.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested can be found in the Impact of the New State Pension (nSP) on an Individual’s Pension Entitlement – Longer Term Effects of nSP published in January 2016. The link can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/491845/impact-of-new-state-pension-longer-term-reserach.pdf Figure 1 of the assessment shows the proportion of all pensioners from 2016 until 2060 at each time point with changed notional State Pension outcomes under the new State Pension.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his oral contribution of 21 March 2016, Official Report, column 1269, whether his Department plans to proceed with the removal of housing benefit for people aged between 18 and 21 years old.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government will be taking forward its plans to remove the automatic entitlement to housing support for new claims in Universal Credit for 18-21 year olds who are out of work from April 2017; as announced in the 2015 Summer Budget. The planned changes will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it whilst maintaining a system that is fair to the taxpayer

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Advisory Group on Litter

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which campaign groups attended the initial meeting of key stakeholders at the litter strategy advisory group.

Rory Stewart: The Minister for Local Government and I had an initial meeting with the following organisations to discuss the Government’s intention to form a Litter Strategy Advisory Group and publish a National Litter Strategy: Keep Britain TidyCampaign for the Protection of Rural EnglandHubbubLocal Government AssociationThe Industry Council for Research on Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN)Foodservice Packaging AssociationThe Chartered Institution of Wastes Management

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against her Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

George Eustice: The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en.

Fertilisers: Prices

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to address the high cost of fertilisers for farmers.

George Eustice: The trade in fertilisers is part of a global market and prices are determined by the market place. Defra monitors farmer input costs, which include fertilisers, and farmers have access to advice on the efficient use of these products under the industry-led Greenhouse Gas Action Plan.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Electronic Government

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34465, if her Department will take steps to allow web-users to include honours when completing government online forms.

George Eustice: We would only include a specific place for users to include honours information, when designing an online form or transaction, if that information was directly relevant and necessary.

Meat: Exports

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of when the ban on the export of Welsh beef and lamb to the US is likely to be lifted.

George Eustice: Defra has recently submitted detailed evidence required by the US authorities. My Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was recently in Washington DC to raise the importance of this agreement. We continue to press for expeditious consideration of the UK application to allow exports of UK beef and lamb to commence as soon as possible.

Beverage Containers: Recycling

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will assess the merits of introducing a deposit return system for single-use drinks containers in England.

Rory Stewart: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham Hall Green, Roger Godsiff, on 11 April 2016, PQ UIN32607. Defra analysed the costs and benefits of implementing a deposit return system (DRS) for single use drink containers as part of the 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England, and sought views in the 2012 consultation on higher packaging recycling targets. This work showed that introducing a DRS may increase recycling and reduce litter but might impose additional costs on businesses, consumers and local authorities (which would lose revenue from recycling). However, we lack evidence to quantify these benefits and costs appropriately. The current approach has driven a significant increase in packaging waste recycling rates, from less than 47% in 2003 to nearly 65% in 2013. Last year, the Scottish Government published a feasibility study and a call for evidence investigating the implementation of a DRS for single use drink containers in Scotland. This valuable work highlighted significant uncertainties regarding the impacts and benefits that a DRS would have, notably regarding costs, environmental quality and littering, and existing waste collection systems. The Scottish Government is doing further work on the topic and we will review any new evidence arising from this in due course. However, in the meantime, we will continue to focus on improving existing waste collection and recycling systems, and developing a new National Litter Strategy for England to help coordinate and maximise the impact of anti-litter activity by local government, industry and others.

Hunting Act 2004: Prosecutions

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) convicted of an offence under the Hunting Act 2004 in each police force area in 2014.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) convicted of an offence under the Hunting Act 2004 in each police force area in 2015.

Rory Stewart: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Foyle, Mark Durkan, on 23 June 2015, PQ3270. 2014 figures for the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Hunting Act 2004 are set out, by police force area in England and Wales, in table 1. Table 1: Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Hunting Act 2004 (1), by police force area, England and Wales, 2014(2)(3)Police force areaProceeded againstFound guiltyAvon and Somerset5-Bedfordshire--Cambridgeshire3-Cheshire--Cleveland2-Cumbria2-Derbyshire--Durham33Essex--Gloucestershire--Hampshire--Hertfordshire--Humberside1713Kent33Lancashire55Leicestershire1-Lincolnshire42Merseyside--Metropolitan Police--Norfolk4-Northumbria33North Yorkshire--Nottinghamshire--South Yorkshire--Staffordshire--Suffolk74Surrey--Sussex--Thames Valley22West Mercia3-West Yorkshire--Wiltshire--England and Wales6435(1) Includes Section 1,3(1)(2), 5(1)(a)(b)(c)(d), 5 (2)(a)(b)(c) and 6 of Hunting Act 2004.(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.  There are no figures available for 2015.

Protection of Badgers Act 1992: Prosecutions

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) convicted of an offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in 2015.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) convicted of an offence under the Deer Act 1991 in 2015.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) convicted of an offence under the Wild Animals (Protection) Act 1996 in each police force area in 2015.

Rory Stewart: The Government is committed to tackling wildlife crime. The UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, which is part-funded by Defra, monitors and gathers intelligence on illegal activities, including those relating to badger persecution and poaching, which are UK wildlife crime priorities. The Unit also provides assistance to police forces when required. Court proceedings data for 2015, including those for the offences listed above, are planned for publication by the Ministry of Justice in due course.

Rural Areas: Affordable Housing

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on provision of affordable housing in rural areas.

Rory Stewart: The Secretary of State holds regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Rural housing is one of the issues that frequently arises.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Roads: Planning Obligations

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether regulations are in place to ensure that (a) town councils, (b) parish councils and (c) local communities can exercise a community right to bid for independent qualified contractors to deliver highways infrastructure works that are funded by Section 106 contributions from developments within their parish as part of any competitive bidding process carried out by the local highways authority.

Brandon Lewis: Provisions are in place under the Community Right to Challenge to enable town and parish councils and voluntary and community organisations to challenge how council services are delivered by submitting a bid (Expression of Interest) to the relevant council.Expressions of Interest need to be made in respect of an existing service and one that the local authority has responsibility for providing, which councils must consider and can only reject if specific circumstances set out in legislation apply. If a developer is undertaking work as part of an agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, then this would not fall under the scope of the Right to Challenge as it would not be a local authority service.However, if a highways service was to be delivered by a local authority as a result of a Section 106 contribution then this would be within the scope of the Right, although it is important to note that local authorities are able to reject an Expression of Interest if a service is already the subject of a procurement process or pre-procurement negotiations. If this is the case, the town or parish council or community group would be able to participate in the procurement process.The Community Right to Bid provides local people and parish councils with the opportunity to nominate a building or land for listing by a local council as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), which, if the owner decides to sell, a moratorium of up to six months is triggered. During the moratorium period, the asset cannot be sold except to a community bidder.If a highways service was to be delivered by a local authority as a result of a Section 106 contribution then this should be within the scope of the Community Right to Challenge. It is important to note though that local authorities are able to reject an expression of interest if a service is already the subject of a procurement process or if the authority has entered into negotiations with a third party to deliver the service and these are at least in part conducted in writing. Where the services are currently being procured, the organisation in question would be able to participate in the procurement exercise.

Department for Communities and Local Government: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

James Wharton: The information requested is publically available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

Circle Housing: Finance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding Circle Housing Group and its subsidiaries have been provided by (a) the Homes and Communities Agency, (b) the Greater London Council and (c) other government agencies in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has provided Circle Housing Group and its subsidiaries with the following grant funding to develop affordable housing: a.) Through the Homes and Communities Agency:  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16TotalGrant£25.3m£5.3m£5.5m£8.8m£4.6m£2.2m£51.7m b.) Through the Greater London Authority:  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16TotalGrant£50.3m£86.4m£38.1m£10.2m£15.6m£5.1m£205.7m c.) We are not aware that any funding has been provided to Circle Housing Group and its subsidiaries through other government agencies.

Housing Associations: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will instruct the Homes and Communities Agency regulator to investigate concerns raised by Tower Hamlets Council on tenants of Old Ford Housing Association suffering serious detriment as a result of Circle Housing Group's failure properly to manage its gas repairs contract with Kier Group during the winter of 2015-16.

Brandon Lewis: The Social Housing Regulator is statutorily independent, the Secretary of State cannot, therefore, intervene in this matter.The Social Housing regulator is aware of the issue and as is normal practice is working closely with Circle as it continues to recover its repair service. The Regulator currently has sufficient assurance of Circle’s intention to address the issues and its progress in doing so, such that the Regulator considers it does not need to apply enforcement powers at this point. The Regulator will of course continue to examine any new information.

Non-domestic Rates: East Sussex

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an estimate of the cost to East Sussex County Council of changes to business rate retention consequent to changes announced in Budget 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: I refer the hon. Member for Eastbourne to the answer given to the hon. Member for Croydon North on 31 March to Question 31745.

Communities and Local Government: Electronic Government

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34465, if his Department will take steps to allow web-users to include honours when completing government online forms.

Mr Mark Francois: DCLG is not a transactional department and only has one form on GOV.UK. This form is a contact us form, which does not ask for any titles such as Miss, Mr etc at present. We do not have any plans to add honours on to this form. However, if a member of the public wanted to add their honours following the entry of their name in the full name box they would be able to do so.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32951, what measures he plans to introduce to ensure that social housing stock sold under the Right to Buy scheme is replaced by like-for-like replacements that are built in the same local authority area.

Brandon Lewis: The voluntary agreement with the National Housing Federation states that housing associations will provide a new home for every home sold under the voluntary Right to Buy nationally, and we envisage that new build will occur in areas where there is a need. Housing Associations are best placed to understand what type of housing is best suited to their local communities; they know their customers’ needs and it is only right that decisions on tenure are taken locally.The commitment under the reinvigorated council Right to Buy is to provide a new affordable home for every additional sale nationally. Councils are best placed to determine what property type is needed for the communities that they serve, and there is a rolling 3 year deadline to deliver additional affordable homes through new builds or acquisition. So far they have delivered well within profile. By December 2015, there had been 4,954 starts and acquisitions, delivering more than a one for one replacement on the 3,054 sales following the first year of reinvigoration.

Non-domestic Rates

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of how much local authorities will be able to collect through business rates under the Government's devolution proposals in (a) East Yorkshire, (b) North Lincolnshire and (c) elsewhere.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities. However, based on their own estimates, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council expect to collect £106.9 million and £89.2 million in business rates respectively in 2016-17.

Parking Offences: Fines

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with representatives of the private parking industry on the implications of the Supreme Court case, Beavis vs ParkingEye.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the DVLA on the implications of the Supreme Court case, Beavis vs ParkingEye.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government is aware of the public concern at the way some private parking companies operate.Whilst we have not held any specific discussions with the DVLA or representatives of the private parking companies, we are currently reviewing responses to the discussion paper, “Parking Reform: Tackling Unfair Practices”.We will issue a response in due course.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

Mr Julian Brazier: The information requested is available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here.http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Department for Energy and Climate Change: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against her Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

Amber Rudd: The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 (though my department was only created in 2008) and can be found here. http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

Coal Fired Power Stations

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to keep coal plants open.

Andrea Leadsom: Decisions on plant closures are commercial matters for the plant owners. However, we recently consulted on changes to the Capacity Market, which included proposals for an early Capacity Market auction for the 2017/18 delivery year to mitigate the security of supply impact of potential early plant closures. If we go ahead with this proposal, coal plants will be eligible to participate. On 18 November we announced plans to close all unabated coal-fired power stations by 2025. Achieving this goal would make the UK one of the first developed countries to deliver on a commitment to take coal off the system. However, we have been clear that we would only proceed with these plans if we are confident that the shift to new gas generation can be achieved within these timescales.

Offshore Industry: Employment

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if it is her policy for the oil and gas industry to include employment costs in interpreting paragraph 29 of her Department's paper, Maximising Economic Recovery Strategy for the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: Any guidance for industry would be an Oil and Gas Authority matter and they will work with industry to support effective implementation of the MER UK Strategy. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State does not intend to issue further guidance.

Energy Supply

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33974, what regard she has given to to Section 14 of the Cabinet Office publication, Guide to making legislation, when determining the relative timing of issuing the impact assessment and the closure of the consultation on further reforms to the Capacity Market.

Andrea Leadsom: Section 14 of the Cabinet Office ‘Guide to making legislation’ states that Impact Assessments are generally required for all UK Government interventions of a regulatory nature. The latest version of the ‘Better Regulation Framework Manual’, in its definition of “Regulation”, clarifies that Regulation does not include tax and spending decisions. The Capacity Market, and the proposals outlined in the consultation on further reforms to the Capacity Market, is classified as ‘Tax and Spend’. Therefore Section 14 does not apply to this policy and a consultation stage Impact Assessment is not needed. The Government will, however, publish a final Impact Assessment alongside its response to the recent consultation.

Oil and Gas Authority

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many staff of her Department she expects to transfer into the Oil and Gas Authority.

Andrea Leadsom: When the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) was established as an Executive Agency in April 2015, 85 Civil Servants were transferred from DECC. When the OGA becomes a Government Company staff will be transferred by a Staff Transfer Scheme. There are currently 130 staff employed by the OGA.

Wind Power: Scotland

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the remote Scottish islands projects will be eligible to compete in the forthcoming Contracts for Difference auction process.

Andrea Leadsom: The announcement at Budget on 16 March 2016 of £730M for the three ‘Pot 2’ (less established technologies) auctions this Parliament demonstrates this Government’s firm commitment to supporting renewable deployment. The Budget 2016 also reconfirmed plans to run the first Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction this Parliament at the end of the year – with a budget of £290M – enough to support around 1GW of new deployment from 2021/21. We are currently finalising plans and priorities for the 2016 round and plan to announce further details in relation to the next round, including technology eligibility, later this Spring.

Wind Power: Scotland

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the potential economic benefits of the remote Scottish islands onshore wind projects for the (a) regional economies of the islands and (b) wider UK supply chain.

Andrea Leadsom: In 2013, the previous Government undertook an independent study to assess whether Scottish Island Renewables could make a cost effective contribution to meeting the UK’s renewable energy targets and to determine whether any additional measures are required to bring these projects forward. The report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scottish-islands-renewable-project-final-report.

Electricity Generation: Scotland

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the application for state aid clearance for the remote Scottish islands has been submitted to the European Commission.

Andrea Leadsom: We are currently finalising plans and priorities for the 2016 Contracts for Difference (CfD) round and plan to announce further details in relation to the next round, including notification of State Aid to the European Commission, as soon as possible.

Electricity Generation: Crown Dependencies

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with British Crown Dependencies on the status of such territories for the purpose of awarding Contracts for Difference to projects that benefit the UK's electricity supply.

Andrea Leadsom: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not met with British Crown Dependencies on the status of such territories for the purpose of awarding Contracts for Difference to projects that benefit the UK's electricity supply.

Coal

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether coal is being stockpiled in any location in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC publishes data on coal stocks held in the UK. The latest data show, that at the end of February 2016, 11,981 thousand tonnes were held in stocks. This includes stocks held at electricity generators, ports and undistributed stocks held at coal mines. The data is not available split by region. Source: Energy Trends Table 2.6, March 2016, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-section-2-energy-trends

Cabinet Office

Lobbying

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions his Department has had with universities on the potential effect on university research of the proposed ban on public funds being used to lobby Government.

Matthew Hancock: This information can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Details of ministerial meetings are provided in transparency documents available on Gov.uk.

Perinatal Mortality

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of neonatal deaths in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK in each of the last ten years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Neonatal Deaths
(PDF Document, 75.77 KB)

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Death

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons progressive supranuclear palsy is not recorded as a cause of death on death certificates; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Death on Death Cerfticates
(PDF Document, 111.95 KB)

House of Commons Commission

Parliament's Education Service

Jim Shannon: To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the effectiveness of the Education Service in engaging the attention of children during their visits to Parliament.

Tom Brake: The Commission has not made a formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Education Service in engaging the attention of children during their visits to Parliament. However, it receives regular updates on the work and reach of the service, and has supported the substantial growth in this area in recent years.The Education Service uses a number of techniques to engage students’ attention during visits including story-telling, question and answer, images, audio-visual clips, debating, quizzes and roleplay.Visits also make use of interactive and immersive technology as a means to enhance learning. The Education Centre’s Discovery space uses 360° projection and sound technology to immerse students in virtual chambers, historical events and The Story of Parliament, whilst three of the Centre’s learning spaces are equipped with augmented reality experiences, which see Winston Churchill, the Yeoman Usher, Charles I and Queen Victoria ‘come to life’ in virtual environments.Voting pods and tablets are used regularly in sessions, and the centre also contains a 3D printer, for printing objects students cannot normally handle or get close to; this is proving particularly effective for tactile learning and Special Educational Needs (SEN) groups. Tablets are also used on the line of route as part of the ‘Adventurer’s Tour’ programme, where KS2 students are tasked with a mission to save democracy.

Department of Health

Trade Associations

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance has been issued to local authorities and other Government departments on engagement with the (a) British Soft Drinks Association, (b) Food and Drinks Federation, (c) Wines and Spirits Association and (d) Tobacco Manufacturers Association.

Jane Ellison: The Ministerial Code and Civil Service Code set out guidance on accepting gifts or hospitality. Information about gifts and hospitality received by Ministers, overseas travel and meetings with external organisations is published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website. This information is available at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetingsNo further guidance has been issued to local authorities or other Government Departments on engagement with the British Soft Drinks Association, Food and Drink Federation, Wine and Spirit Trade Association or Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association.In 2013, the Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published Guidelines for overseas posts on support to the tobacco industry. These guidelines are available at:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287119/Guidance_for_Overseas_Posts_on_support_to_the_Tobacco_Industry.pdf

In Vitro Fertilisation: Finance

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on patient welfare of proposals made by some clinical commissioning groups to discontinue funding IVF treatment.

Jane Ellison: The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs. The Government has made it clear that blanket restrictions on treatment are unacceptable and all decisions on treatment should be made by doctors based on a patient's individual clinical needs and in line with the National Institute for health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Incontinence: Children

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Public Health England has had with NHS England on the commissioning of school nurses offering level one paediatric continence services since the transfer of school nurse commissioning responsibilities to local authorities.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England is a member of NHS England’s Complex Health Needs Board, which discusses matters such as continence support through school nurses.As continence services fall outside of the public health grant, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for commissioning continence services and will have discussions with local partners regarding commissioning within the school nursing service. Public Health England’s communication with NHS England has been to stress the importance of promoting this partnership approach by CCGs to ensure that local school nursing services are able to incorporate appropriate levels of continence support.

Electronic Cigarettes

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department collects on the number of people who use electronic cigarettes.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not collect any data on the number of people who use electronic cigarettes. The Department makes use of various data sources, including that published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre and the Office for National Statistics as an evidence base for policy making. This includes the Opinions and Lifestyles Survey for electronic cigarette use by adults and the Smoking, Drinking and Drugs survey for use by young people.

Incontinence: Children

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of school nurses to offer basic support for children with continence problems since the transfer of school nurse commissioning to local authorities.

Jane Ellison: Responsibility for commissioning of continence services lies with clinical commissioning groups, who should lead local negotiations with local authority partners and school nurse providers to determine the level of service. Public Health England has developed commissioning guidance to support local delivery. As local delivery and capacity will vary according to local needs and resources, no national assessment has been undertaken.

Incontinence: Children

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on ensuring that children attending educational settings have access to on-site support for continence problems.

Jane Ellison: There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Education on this issue. The Department for Education has published guidance for schools and the support that should be provided for pupils with medical needs which is set out in the document Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions, available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3

Nurses: Take-home Pay

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the combined effect of the (a) increase in national insurance contributions and (b) one per cent 2015-16 pay increase for NHS staff which both took effect from 1 April 2016 on the take-home pay of NHS nurses.

Alistair Burt: The impact on take-home pay for National Health Service nurses, of the combined effect of these measures will depend on individual circumstances, in particular how much they are paid, whether they are members of the NHS Pension Scheme, whether they also received an annual increment and their personal tax allowance.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was paid in prescription charges in England and Wales in 2015-16.

Alistair Burt: We do not have an audited figure for the total amount paid in prescription charges in England in the community for 2015-16. However, provisional data for this 2015-16 financial year indicates that, up to the end of February 2016, £402.7 million was paid. An additional £124.4 million was also paid up to the end of March 2016 through the purchase of prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs). For 2014-15, which is the latest year for which we have an audited figure, revenue from prescriptions charges dispensed in the community, including PPC revenue, totalled £503.9 million. Approximately 90% of prescriptions are dispensed in England without charge. Prescription charges were abolished in Wales in 2007, and the Department does not have data on prescription charges collected in Wales for prescriptions issued in England.

Chronic Illnesses: Prescriptions

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the potential annual cost to the public purse of exempting all people with long-term medical conditions from prescription charges.

Alistair Burt: We have not made a recent estimate of the cost to the public purse in lost revenue from introducing an exemption from prescription charges for all people with long-term medical conditions. However, the review of prescription charges by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, which was commissioned by a previous Government and published in 2010, estimated that extending the prescription charge exemption to everyone with a long-term condition would cost £360 to £430 million a year. This is likely to be an underestimate, given the increase in the prescription charge and increasing numbers of prescriptions dispensed since the Review was published. Overall prescription charge revenue for 2014/15, which is the last year for which we have a complete audited figure, was £503.9 million. A number of prescription charge exemptions are in place, for which someone with a long-term condition may qualify. These include exemptions based on low income, such as certain out of work benefits and the NHS Low Income Scheme, and age. Where someone does not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates are available. The 3-month and 12-month certificates allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as they need for £29.10 and £104, respectively. Approximately 90% of all prescriptions are dispensed in England without a charge.

Mesothelioma: Research

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to support research into mesothelioma.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on the future funding of research into mesothelioma.

George Freeman: The Government agrees that more mesothelioma research is needed and has taken measures to stimulate an increase in the level of research activity.Patients, carers, clinicians and funders have worked in partnership to identify what the priorities in research are. Following a survey and a workshop, the top 10 mesothelioma research priorities were announced in December 2014. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) published a final report from the Priority Setting Partnership in July 2015. In advance of the identification of research questions by this partnership, the NIHR highlighted to the research community that it wanted to encourage research applications in mesothelioma.The NIHR subsequently invited researchers to apply for mesothelioma research funding, in particular to address the research questions identified through the partnership. Eight NIHR programmes participated in this themed call. Fifteen individual applications were received, of which two have been approved for funding.In addition, the NIHR Research Design Service continues to be able to help prospective applicants develop competitive research proposals. This service is well-established and has10 regional bases across England. It supports researchers to develop and design high-quality proposals for submission to NIHR itself and also to other national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.The National Cancer Research Institute is facilitating ongoing dialogue between relevant research funders on the topic of mesothelioma, to discuss what the barriers to research are and what is needed to stimulate research in the field.The Chancellor’s Budget Report committed £5 million of LIBOR fines over the next four years for the National Mesothelioma Centre.The Department has received recent representations relating to funding of mesothelioma research from the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK and from several hon. Members on behalf of constituents.

Electronic Cigarettes

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from academics and health experts on the health benefits and disadvantages of vaping.

Jane Ellison: The Department engages with a wide range of interested parties with views on e-cigarettes and vaping. The Department will continue to listen to all parties to inform our decisions as well as drawing on the reports such E-cigarettes - an evidence update published by Public Health England in 2015.

Department of Health: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

Dental Services

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which dental practices are trialling the new dental contract.

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any of the dental practices trialling the new dental contract are located in (a) Nottingham North constituency, (b) Nottingham City or (c) local dental networks in that area.

Alistair Burt: The attached list provides details of the current 79 dental practices that have signed a prototype agreement. These practices will test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease which includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice on diets and good oral hygiene. The two practices marked with an asterisk (*) are located in Nottingham.



List of Dental Prototypes
(Word Document, 26.1 KB)

Mental Health Services: Children

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures he has put in place to monitor how the £1.25 billion allocated to children and adolescent mental health services in the March 2015 Budget is spent; and if he will take steps to ring-fence the remainder of that funding.

Alistair Burt: In total the Government has made available an additional £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to improve children and young people’s mental health. In addition to the £1.25 billion made available in the March 2015 budget, a further £150 million was made available in the 2014 Autumn Statement to develop evidence based community eating disorder services for children and young people.NHS England’s Local Transformation Planning guidance issued, in August 2015, and the robust assurance process around it, backed by a programme of regional and national support, ensure that the additional money will be spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators will be met. No funding was allocated without full assurance in place.The intention from 2016-17 is to monitor children and young people’s mental health services transformation as part of mainstream NHS England planning processes and through the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Improvement and Assessment Framework. As part of the 2016-17 financial reporting planning process, programme level spend including children and young people’s mental health spend will be monitored routinely throughout the yearWhile there is no legal power for the Department to ring-fence funding allocated to CCGs, we have introduced other means to ensure CCGs spend the additional investment where it is intended. The Department set objectives for NHS England in the annual mandate, which reflects the priorities for the health and care system. The mandate for 2016-17 sets objectives to 2020 and it makes it clear that the Government expects to see a transformation of children and young people’s mental health services.

General Practitioners: Waiting Lists

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on average patient waiting times of the use of closed waiting lists at GP surgeries.

Alistair Burt: The Department has not assessed waiting times for appointments, as each practice decides how to operate in order to meet the contractual requirement to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. The needs of patients can vary considerably from one practice to another. NHS England does not routinely collect data on either general practitioner (GP) appointment or GP registration waiting times. NHS England is currently establishing a new collection process to gather information on closed patient lists routinely. Therefore, it is not able currently to assess the impact of a practice closing their list on appointment waiting times. Practices may only close their lists to new patients with the approval of NHS England. NHS England works with GP practices to ensure patient lists remain open wherever possible. It is possible that the reasons for closing a practice list impact on the flow of appointments to existing patients e.g. with the sudden loss of a GP, but such effects will often be temporary. Any patient struggling to find a practice accepting new patients can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for support.

Nutrition: Health Education

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which private sector companies (a) provided financial resources, (b) submitted evidence  and (c) provided any in-kind support during the development of the new Eatwell Guide.

Jane Ellison: No private sector companies provided financial resources or in-kind support during the development of the Eatwell Guide.An external reference group was convened to provide advice to Public Health England (PHE) on the approaches to developing the model. Representatives from health, voluntary sector and industry (including trade and levy organisations), were members and provided routes of engagement.Outside of reference group involvement, 25 individuals/organisations provided unofficial written comments directly to PHE; two of which were private sector companies.

Obesity

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department will be responsible for drafting and publishing the obesity strategy.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Public Health England will be responsible for drafting and publishing the obesity strategy.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for the publication of the obesity strategy; and what role (a) Public Health England and (b) his Department is playing in the drafting of that strategy.

Jane Ellison: The Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, is being led by the Department with input from across Government, including Public Health England.

Smoking

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on campaigns promoting the cessation of smoking in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England took over public health campaigns formerly run by the Department on 1 April 2013.The breakdown of spending on smoking cessation campaigns since 1 April 2013 is as below; all figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000 and include paid media spending (inclusive of agency commissions but excluding production costs and value added tax).2013-14£7,640,0002014-15£6,920,0002015-16£5,300,000

Visual Impairment: Young People

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make additional funding available to expand access to habilitation training for young people with sight loss.

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote habilitation training.

Alistair Burt: In 2013, Blind Children UK, previously the National Blind Children’s Society, received funding through the Department’s Voluntary Sector Investment Programme (Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund) for their three year project `Children and Young People’s Habilitation Service’.At a national level, the Department for Education has funded a partnership of charities through the National Sensory Impairment Partnership to help local authorities to compare their services, learn from the best in the country and make sure that services for blind children and their families (as well as those with other sensory impairments) are effective and meet local needs.My Department will consider with the Department for Education, which has responsibility for children’s social care, and where appropriate, with training and regulatory bodies, how we can highlight the value of habilitation workers.

Blood: Contamination

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33989, on blood: contamination, when he plans to publish a response to the public consultation.

Jane Ellison: The consultation on the infected blood payment scheme closed on 15 April 2016. Officials are currently analysing the replies and a formal response will be published in due course.